Taipei, April 11 (CNA) Taipei Mayor Hau Lung-bin has refused a demand by protesters besieging a police precinct in Taipei to accept the resignation of the precinct's chief, and he urged the demonstrators to be rational.

Hau issued the call after protesters demanded that Fang Yang-ning, the chief of Zhongzheng First Police Precinct apologize and step down for reneging on his pledge to not forcibly disperse protesters from the square outside the Legislative Yuan. Fang offered to resign and made a public apology in front of the estimated 1,000 protesters, but to no avail, as many of his remarks were drowned out by chants and heckling from the crowd, which insisted that Hau accept the resignation offer. The incident was triggered when police from the precinct began at around 7 a.m. Friday to pick up and remove protesters from the square outside the Legislature after Fang had said hours earlier that he would use "soft" means to get the protesters to leave. The Legislature's main chamber had been occupied by student-led protesters for 24 days until Thursday to rally against a trade-in-services agreement with China. The protesters left the building on Thursday, but a group of people remain camped outside overnight. Fang defended the police decision to clear the area Friday morning, saying it was necessary to allow the Legislature to resume normal operations. (By Evelyn Kao)